Description
The Project :
In advance of a major reinstallation of The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s entire suite of American art galleries, the museum is proposing the execution of an experimental installation of a single gallery dedicated to art of the Americas to 1820. Led and carried out by the rising curator Kelli Morgan, the gallery installation will recognize and counter the shortcomings of the white, male canon to which most museums continue to adhere in their permanent galleries of American art. The curatorial goal of the new gallery is to contest established narratives through the introduction of ancient art, Native American art, art by women, and a small number of contemporary works, to articulate a more critical accounting of colonialism and its ongoing aftermath.
The extended process of creating the content of this gallery is distinguished by two factors: the commissioning of contemporary works by artists of color (not supported by proposed Luce grant funds); and a deep engagement in evaluative conversations with stakeholder Indianapolis communities from the outset of the work through its completion.
The gallery work will begin in June of 2018 with the opening planned for June of 2021.
Rationale for Funding :
With the recent addition of an inclusivity mandate to an established strategic plan, the museum has decided to enlist its permanent collection galleries more concertedly in an effort to develop a diverse audience more representative of the population of Indianapolis. In recruiting Kelli Morgan, a curator of color, the museum agreed to empower her to move forward in reconceiving a narrative of American art with diversity at the fore. Now with powerful motivation in place and a plan to move through the work in a carefully considered way, the museum has the opportunity to create a model that could inform their projected comprehensive reinstallation and as well as the field in general.
The gallery installation as currently planned is distinctive in combining a compelling interpretation of collection objects with the insertion of contemporary works that target specific aspects of canonical narrative. That is to say, it will not rely exclusively on the contemporary interventions to shift the overall galley narrative. Another distinguishing feature of the proposed work is the extent and duration of the conversations with constituent audiences. The project as structure is highly promising, and the degree of critical evaluation planned upon its completion aims for productive accountability regarding the results. If there is one potential flaw in the plan, it is the duration of the work, which maybe too prolonged to achieve absolute timeliness.
In that the American Art Program continually seeks new and progressive project models specific to work in permanent collections, this is an experiment well worth the Foundation’s support.
